KY Natural Inquirer

A Controlled Burn

2012-02-28T22:22:00.004-05:00

After the terrible drought in Texas last summer, everyone agrees that wildfires are to be avoided, if at all possible. The key here is the word "wild," meaning uncontrolled. If you drove near the Nature Preserve on Ash Wednesday, you probably noticed a fire in Meadowlark Meadow, the large grassy area in front of Mahan Manor. This was a "controlled" burn, something that property managers use to help control invasives without using herbicides.

If the conditions are just right...perfect temperature, wind conditions, and barometric pressure...a deliberately set fire in a limited region can be very beneficial. For thousands of years, tall grass prairies and open brushlands were kept free of trees by the occasional wildfires that cleared the landscape every two to 50 years. These fires were caused by lightning, or set intentionally by Native Americans. They had discovered that fire killed woody plants, but encouraged fruit bearing shrubs, and forage producing grasslands.

Present day research and experience have shown that prescribed burning can be an effective management tool. Prescribed burns are used most frequently to maintain and restore native grasslands. Prescribed burning can recycle nutrients tied up in old plant growth, control many woody plants and herbaceous weeds, improve poor quality forage, increase plant growth, reduce the risk of large wildfires, and improve certain wildlife habitat. To achieve the above benefits, fire must be used under very specific conditions, using very specific techniques.

The native grasses and wild flowers in these areas grow long roots deep into the soil. If the foliage burns off, the roots just send up new shoots, but shrubs, invasives and other unwanted plants will be killed off. Come back to the meadow in a few weeks and watch for new growth of these native plants!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Birding 101 at the Nature Preserve

2012-02-18T16:19:00.000-05:00

Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve and the Louisville Audubon Society joined birders everywhere in the Great Backyard Bird Count today. The GBBC is citizen science in action, and there is still time for anyone to help - February 17 through February 20.

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time. You may find it helpful to print out your regional bird checklist to get an idea of the kinds of birds you're likely to see in your area in February. You could take note of the highest number of each species you see on this checklist.

3. When you're finished, enter your results through our web page. You'll see a button marked "Enter Your Checklists!" on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission: March 5, 2012.

I was pleased with the number of enthusiastic, knowledgable young birders attending our program today. Some liked the birdy craft projects, while others took right to the binoculars! A little girl won a bag of bird seed as a door prize, and was more excited than she was at Santa's arrival! Ryan Ankeny from the LAS gave a short program with pointers on identifying birds, and we headed out into the Nature Preserve
.

We saw and heard many of the regular backyard birds in the bird observation room, along with the little chipmonk who lives there. He was delighted by all the new seeds on the ground!

A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers visited the feeders early in the morning. Out in the woods we found a Downy Woodpecker and a two large Piliated Woodpeckers - our outstanding bird for the day.

Although I see and hear Bluebirds every day I come to the Nature Preserve, for some reason they all went someplace else today. So here is what we missed in case you want to look for them later.

Buddy Freckles is our mole manager, but he said he'd be glad to change jobs today and become a bird dog instead!

Song Sparrows like to feed in the brush and on the ground, but like most small birds, they can move away before you get a photo of them. This little guy kept moving his head so fast it's simply a blur here!

Of course, the birds are ready for someone to appreciate them every day, and you don't have to wait for an invitation or special event to enjoy their beautiful colors and songs. Spring will be here before long with birds migrating home, and our own birds moving into the nesting boxes at the Preserve. If you are lucky, you may even get to see our Red Tailed Hawk, Adell!

Do You Appreciate Squirrels?

2012-01-24T11:32:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve celebrated National Squirrel Appreciation Day. Our friend Brigette Williams, of Second Chances Wildlife Center, came to share some of her squirrely friends.

The tree squirrel is a very special animal. It is one of very few wild animals that have adapted to humans and learned to coexist with man. It can live on both natural foods and handouts. The squirrel is an acrobatic wonder to young and old. Its large tail makes it the most recognized mammal on Earth. It amazes us with daring high wire acts, as it races through the tree branches. Its determination to find a way to get seeds from a so called "squirrel proof" bird feeder is a delight to watch. The average Gray squirrel is fifteen inches long and weighs about one pound. Its diet consists of nuts, seeds and fruit. They will eat scrapes from the trash including bread, meat and even snack food. The life span of the squirrel is approximately six years. Most urban squirrels do not reach their first birthday, not due to predators, but rather to automobiles, compared to its rural counterpart, which often perishes from the lack of food.

Squirrels are the most active in late winter, when the mating season begins. The males will chase a females, as well as, chase off other suitors. This ritual of chasing, occurs through the trees at top speed. While they perform some of the most breathtaking acrobatics imaginable. During winter storms, or severe cold, the squirrel may not leave the nest for days. But, the tree squirrel does not hibernate! When a squirrel senses danger, its first instinct is to stand motionless. If on the ground it will race to the closest tree, or other climbable object to escape. If it is in a tree, it will circle the trunk with its body pressed tightly to the bark.

Although we are all familiar with the gray squirrel that lives in our yards, few of us have ever seen the flying squirrel which is actually nocturnal and are the smallest of all squirrels.They will eat insects, mast (nuts), fungi and mushrooms (esp. truffles), carrion, buds, flowers, bird eggs and nestlings, seeds, berries, fruit, insects, slugs and snails, bark, young mice, tree sap, carrion (esp. in winter). Sometimes they may cache food for winter use.

Flying squirrels are found in coniferous and mixed forests (especially those that produce mast like maple, beech, hickory, oak and poplar), with good tree cover. They may avoid areas where wood has been recently harvested. Sometimes they may den in houses or barns rather than a tree cavity. The Young born without fur, eyes and ears closed, with fused toes and a cylindrical tail. Ears will open at 2-6 days, by 6 days toes are separated, and fur starts to grow in by 7 days, but their eyes won't open until 24-30 days old.

Flying squirrels don't really fly, like a bat. They steer by adjusting the tautness of the patagium (furry membrane), and use their tail as a stabilizer and to brake before landing. They can glide 80-150 feet. And since they fly at night, their worst enemies are owls.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Darling Starling?

2012-01-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

After a number of misguided attempts to introduce starlings to North America, perhaps 60-100 starlings were released into Central Park, in New York City, in 1890 and 1891, by an acclimatization society headed by Eugene Schieffelin. Their goal was to introduce all birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The entire North American population, now numbering more than 200,000,000, descended from these birds. By the late 1940s (see map), starlings had been seen in nearly all of the U.S. and Canadian provinces. Their population increased from 1966-1976, but seems to have stabilized since, perhaps due to limited nesting sites. Starlings are often found where ever there is food, nest sites and water - typically around cities and towns, and in agricultural areas. The only places they do not frequent are large expanses of woods, arid chaparral and deserts.

No one ever says the Starling is their favorite bird. After all, they are noisy, they poop all over your car, they eat most of the seeds in your birdfeeders, and they devour a farmer's crops. They will take over the nesting boxes you put out for native species and kill any babies in it, or they move cheerfully into holes in the siding of your house. In the winter they gather in huge flocks, and sometimes you have to wonder if they are just birds, or something else altogether. What should a large gathering of Starlings be called? A flock, a horde, a blob, a swarm, a cloud? Murmuration is actually the term applied to large numbers of Starlings as they fly through the air like a swarm of insects.

Here are some things you never knew before about Starlings:

Both males and females can mimic human speech. (Some people keep starlings as pets). Some starlings also imitate the song of many other birds like the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Meadowlark, Northern Bobwhite and House Sparrow, along with Blue Jays, Red-Tailed Hawks and Cedar Waxwings. Vocalizations inside the nestbox during nest building can be lengthy and quite varied.

An estimated 1/3 to 1/2 of returning females nest in the same box or area in consecutive years. That is why it's even more important not to let them nest in the first place.

A starling couple can build a nest in 1-3 days. Both sexes incubate.

A migrating flock can number 100,000 birds. They roost communally in flocks that may contain as many as a million birds.

Each year, starlings cause an estimated $800 million in damages to agricultural crops

About 15-33% of first broods are parasitized (via egg dumping) by other starlings.

Starlings have an unusual bill that springs open to grip prey or pry plants apart.

Starlings only molt once a year (after breeding) but the spots that show up in the winter wear off by the spring, making them look glossy black.

In Starlings, the length of the intestinal tract actually varies depending on the season. It is shorter in the summertime (when birds are mainly eating protein-rich) insect foods and larger in wintertime when they are mainly eating seeds, which are rich in carbohydrates.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Wintering Flocks at the Feeder

2011-12-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Everyone should recognize this plump little bird, even if you aren't an active bird watcher. It's the Carolina Chickadee, which lives in Kentucky year-round. You will hear it chattering and scolding with it's loud chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee. They can be a real challenge to a photographer, since they fly away as soon as you find them in the lens.

During most of the year, Chickadees eat insects, hanging upside down on a branch to scavenge he lower sides of twigs and leaves. In the winter, insects are not to be found, so these small birds have learned to adjust their menus, and you can help. If you have bird feeders, be sure to keep them filled with sunflower seeds. Many wintering birds need the oil in these seeds to keep their metabolism going. If you hang a cake of suet, they love the fat there too. A well-fed chickadee will shiver all night long, even when fast asleep, just to keep warm. When the weather is really cold, some of the little birds have to go into a state of torpor to make it through the night. Their body temperature can drop from the daytime high of 108 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes a lot less energy to keep a chickadee's body at 50 degrees than at 108 degrees.

If your body went that cold for a night it would probably never get warm again. The same can happen to chickadees; over 70 percent do not survive their first year. Some chickadees live for 12 years, but most die before they are two and a half. The chickadee's winter world is a harsh thankless place, and the death of another larger animal can help keep a flock of chickadees alive through the cold winter by scavenging.

White Breased Nuthatch

Tufted Titmouse

Chickadees are usually found with their buddies, the Nuthatches and Tufted Titmouse, all winter long. If you see one one them, you see the others in a short time. Chickadees are the "watch bird" of the backyard, calling out specific songs to alert the mixed flocks to the presence of predators. Then other bird species, such as nuthatches and small woodpeckers, may join chickadee mobs in the wild to drive off predators. This may suggest that other bird species also understand "chick-a-dee" warning calls.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

What's that Blob in the Tree?

2011-11-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

Now that the tree branches are bare, you may notice dark blobs in the branches and wonder what in the world they are. Here in Kentucky, there are two options to choose from - either mistletoe or squirrel nests. It's easy to tell them apart, since you can see sky through the branches of mistletoe and if the light is good the green leaves are clearly visible.

The word "mistletoe" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words, "mistel" (dung) and "tan" (twig) -- misteltan is the Old English version of mistletoe. It's thought that the plant is named after bird droppings on a branch. People used to believe that, rather than just passing through birds in the form of seeds, the mistletoe plant was an inherent result of birds landing in the branches of trees. The birds also help spread the seed by wiping their beaks on the tree bark to clean off the sticky seeds after they've eaten. The seeds are sticky because of the juice inside the berry, which helps the seeds stay in the tree rather than falling to the ground. Within six weeks, the mistletoe plant begins growing, although it takes five years to flower.

Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens or Viscum album) is a parasitic plant that grows on trees, particularly hardwood trees like oak and apple. A parasite is a plant or animal that needs another plant or animal to survive. As mistletoe grows on a tree its roots invade a tree's bark, which allows mistletoe to absorb the tree's nutrients. Sometimes, mistletoe can harm a tree and cause deformities in a tree's branches, but usually it doesn't kill its host. If the host dies, the mistletoe dies. Mistletoe produces its own food by photosynthesis and is able to live on its own, although it is mostly found in trees.

The dark colored solid blob probably belongs to a squirrel. When I teach classes at the Nature Preserve about animals who live in trees, children often expect squirrels to live in a cavity in the tree trunk, when actually they build nests of leaves between sturdy branches. Do squirrels hibernate in winter? No, they stay in their nests to conserve body heat in cold weather, but are active all year. In fact, squirrels mate in the late Winter or very early Spring. This time may vary with location, and the weather conditions. The best time to see a squirrel's acrobatic skill is, during the "mating chase".

Most squirrels eat nuts, seeds, grain, and fruit. By far their favorite food would be nuts, followed by sunflower seeds. Urban squirrel have adapted to eat just about anything, including pizza, luncheon meats and all forms of snack foods. Squirrels have been known to eat bird eggs, but this is a last resort. Gray and Fox squirrels hide their food in many places, so if another squirrel or animal were to find it, the entire year's supply would not be lost. Sometimes they hide food temporarily, until they can move it to a more convenient location. This is called "scatter hoarding". Of course, squirrels help plant trees when they do not eat all the buried acorns.

Mast is an important diet component of many wildlife species. Mast is the fruit of a tree or a shrub and is called “hard” (acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, etc.) or “soft” (fleshy fruits of dogwood, blackgum, black cherry, etc.). Some of the most important trees and shrubs that produce mast are the oaks,dogwoods, hickories, black cherry, blackgum, beech and maples. The oaks are probably the single most important group of trees for mast production for wildlife. For squirrels, bears, wild hogs and to a lesser extent deer, oak mast appears to be the most important factor influencing reproduction. Following years of good mast production, reproduction, survival and population levels of these wildlife species are high. This has been a good mast year, as evidenced by the large piles of acorns under my bushes and on the driveway!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Golden Ginkgo Trees

2011-11-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Many trees turn bright yellow in the autumn, but one of my favorites is the bright yellow Ginkgo tree, found in many locations since it is a popular landscaping tree. But this tree is unique in many ways. The trees adopt a very independent attitude to turning. Some trees will be yellow, and semi-bare, while others are still green, and still others exhibit an odd patchwork, with some yellow areas, some green. And the show doesn't last for very long, because once an individual tree decides to drop, it's all over in a few days.

The leaves are unique among seed plants, being fan-shaped with veins radiating out into the leaf blade, sometimes bifurcating (splitting) but never forming a network of veins as a maple tree for example.Two veins enter the leaf blade at the base and fork repeatedly in two; this is known as dichotomous venation. Click this photo for a closer look.

The Ginkgo is known as a living fossil, with fossils recognisably related to modern Ginkgo from the Permian, dating back 270 million years. Plant classification is a bit complex, but in evolutionary order, after the mosses and worts (no proper roots or water transport), and ferns, horsetails, and club mosses (proper roots, bear spores), we get the two big divisions, the gymnosperms ('naked seeds') and angiosperms ('covered seeds'). Angiosperms are all the plants that people put in gardens, like cabbages and dahlias. Almost all surviving gymnosperms are conifers - Christmas trees, and so on - but the group also includes cycads (tropical plants rather like palm-trees), and of course the ginkgoes. This plural is a bit odd, since there's only one species of ginkgo left now, but things were different in the days of the dinosaurs. There were many species then, with a range of leaf shapes.

How did the Ginkgo come to be in your yard? From China it was transplanted to Japan, probably by Buddhist monks in the 1100's. Englebert Kaempfer, a German botanist, wrote about it after his stay in Nagasaki (1690-1692), and by the 1730s ginkgo seeds had been brought to Holland, and a tree was growing in Utrecht. It could then be propagated by layering (since the seeds take many years to start forming), and so spread across Europe. After the War of Independence it arrived in American in 1784, where it became common.

Ginkgo trees have separate sexes, just like mammals, and only the female (of course) bears fruit, which is a very important thing to know. If you want to plant one in your yard be sure to get a male tree. The female tree bears seeds every other year, and they smell like vomit! Several such trees grew along the sidewalks next to a class building when I was at Ohio State University, and if you stepped on the fallen fruit, your shoes stank for days.

In addition to its use as a delicacy, the ginkgo has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, and is enjoying popularity now in "alternative" health circles. (Perhaps half of the websites about the ginkgo are herbal remedy sites of one sort or another.) Generally infusions from the leaves are used, and these are claimed to improve one's brain power to an amazing degree. They do contain substances which are known to improve circulation to the brain in particular; rather less believable is the original Chinese theory that the leaves must be good for the brain, because they resemble a section of the brain in shape. Also fascinating: a good number of sites advocating use of ginkgo leaf infusions claim that the seeds are toxic. That's good enough for me - I won't eat them!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

The Mobbing Crowd

2011-10-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

It is not uncommon to see a group of crows or mockingbirds chasing a hawk or eagle, or a group of songbirds fluttering and calling around a perched owl. Such "mobbing" behavior is probably the most frequently observed overt antipredator strategy among birds. A predator may be mobbed regardless of whether it is in flight, on the ground or in vegetation. Birds attacking a perched or ground predator always give loud alarm calls and may make physical contact. Flying birds of prey are attacked by swooping down at a steep angle from above and behind, and emitting alarm calls. Sometimes contact is made with bill or feet. Nevertheless, the exact purpose of such noisy group demonstrations remains a matter of some debate.

Mobbing behavior has many functions. The most obvious would be to protect the young in the nest during the nesting season. Other times of the year smaller birds can simply move away from an invading predator, but in the spring, most birds have set up a territory and they are obliged to defend it. Predators often rely on surprise to succeed. When a predator is discovered, birds will blow its cover by the loud alarm calls. This will alert other birds to the presence of a predator, and reduce its chances of success.

Careful experiments have shown that birds can learn from each other which predators to mob (indeed, one bird in an experiment was taught by another to "mob" a many-colored plastic bottle, although the mobbing was halfhearted). Therefore one function of mobbing may be educational -- to teach young birds the identity of the enemy. Another may be to alert other birds to the presence of the predator, either getting them to join in the mobbing or protecting them, since a predator is unlikely to be able to sneak up on an alert victim. The original mobber may benefit directly by the predator being moved along or indirectly if the protected birds are its kin.

It is not clear why predators don't simply turn on their tormentors and snatch up one or two of the mobbing birds. If they did, presumably mobbing would quickly disappear; that it persists suggests that surprise is an essential element in raptor hunting. One theory proposes that hawks become used to it and harassment simply becomes part of their life. It is going to happen no matter what, so they might as well try not to fight it. Also, there is little reason for the hawks to fly away because they are bound to end up in some other bird's territory and will have to listen to those new birds scream in their face. Large hawks are rarely quick enough to actually catch a small bird. Seldom do we see birds mobbing the smaller, quicker hawks. Small hawks can easily catch songbirds and would love to have the little birds visit them for lunch. So the small hawks are wisely avoided by most birds. The birds, instead, turn their attention to the less threatening larger hawks.

Last summer a Red-Tailed Hawk we called Adell was released at the Nature Preserve by Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, Inc. As soon as she flew up into a tree, the mockingbirds immediately arrived loudly proclaiming the presence of a new predator. She was only a young hawk, and probably not a very good hunter at the time, but the mockingbirds didn't give her much of a chance.

The good news is that Adell is still at the Preserve. We have seen her flying around several times in the last few weeks. You can recognize her by the deep rusty color of her breast, which is rather unusual for Red-Tailed Hawks. Next time you see a hawk circling around or perched in a tree, look to see if it's Adell!

Sumac in the Fall

2011-10-15T21:53:00.001-04:00

We all enjoy the bright colors of fall. Sometimes I can't find enough adjectives to describe the reds of maple trees and dogwoods. But the brightest red of all may be the sumac. Sumac is a shrub or small tree, native to most of North America, although it is considered a nuisance in some places.

A variety known as Staghorn Sumac has smooth branches likened to the velvet on a deer's antlers - thus the name Staghorn. There are other varieties, which I couldn't pin down with much confidence. Look closely on the stems in this photo. See the small wings? I think it may be the Winged Sumac.

The fruit grows in large clusters of red berries called "drupes". (Where in the world do they get these names?) These acidic and tart berries can be eaten raw or dried, though they’re most popularly used in the form of a berry tea or beverage termed "sumac-ade," "Indian lemonade" or "rhus juice". This drink is made by soaking the drupes in cool water, rubbing them to extract the essence, straining the liquid through a cotton cloth and sweetening it. Native Americans also used the leaves and drupes of the Smooth and Staghorn Sumacs combined with tobacco in traditional smoking mixtures, and for many medicinal purposes. Sumac grows in other parts of the world as well. The fruits of the genus Rhus are ground into a deep-red or purple powder used as a spice in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a lemony taste to salads or meat. In Arab cuisine, it is used as a garnish on meze dishes such as hummus and is added to salads in the Levant. In Iranian (Persian and Kurdish) cuisine, sumac is added to rice or kebab.

Poison Sumac Berries

When most people hear the word sumac, they automatically think "poison sumac." Indeed one kind is related to poison ivy, and touching any part of it can induce a terrible rash. You can tell the good from the poison version by the berries. Poison sumac has white berries. Of course that doesn't help during the rest of the year, does it?

Ailanthus or Tree of Heaven

Sumac also bears a resemblance to the Ailanthus, or Tree of Heaven, which is definitely an invasive non-native plant. Both have compound leaves, but Ailanthus turns yellow and tan in the fall; staghorn sumac turns red, ranging into purples and oranges. The two plants have completely different fruit however. Both have greenish flowers at the branch tips. The Ailanthus’ come in whitish-green foamy plumes and the male flowers stink. The staghorn sumac’s flowers come in tight lime green pyramids. Ailanthus flowers mature, on the female plants only, into gold clusters of winged seeds tinged with rust (aging to light tan); staghorn sumac has fuzzy berries that go from lime to deep red.

Staghorn Sumac

Ailanthus

Believe it or not, comparing the leaf scars and buds points out the most interesting difference between these two trees and a few others. Ailanthus leaf scars are smile- or shield-shaped with the new bud at the top of the scar; staghorn sumac leaf scars are closer to heart-shaped and, amazingly, the new bud is right in the center of the old scar! The sumac buds are usually hairy if you look closely enough.

Enjoy all the reds of autumn at the Nature Preserve!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Is It an Orange or Apple?

2011-10-04T19:54:00.001-04:00

During these bright autumn days, you might notice a peculiar looking tree growing along the roadside. It looks like bright green oranges or softballs are hanging from its branches! Maclura pomifera, commonly called Osage-orange, hedge-apple, Horse-apple, Bois D'Arc, or Bodark (take your pick), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 26–49 ft. tall. It is dioeceous, that is, having male and female flowers on different plants. The fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, but bumpy and it is filled with a sticky white latex sap. In fall, its color turns a bright yellow-green and it has a faint odor similar to that of oranges.It is not closely related to the citrus fruit called an orange: Maclura belongs to the mulberry family, Moraceae, while oranges belong to the family Rutaceae.

The Osage-orange is native to a small area in eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Arkansas. This region is the home of the Osage Indians which gives the tree its common name. Settlers found that the Osage-orange transplanted easily, tolerated poor soils, extreme heat, and strong winds and had no serious insect or disease problems. It was widely planted in the Midwest as a living fence because, when pruned into a hedge, it provided an impenetrable barrier to livestock. The development of barbed wire curtailed its widespread planting, but many Osage-orange trees can still be found in fence rows. The wood is extremely hard, heavy, durable and shrinks or swells little compared to the wood of other trees. The wood is used for fence posts, treenails, furniture, and archery bows. In fact, many archers consider the wood of the Osage-orange to be the world's finest wood for bows. Another common name for this tree, bodark, is from the French bios d'arc meaning "bow wood." This tree also produces a bright yellow dye which can be extracted from the wood.

The fruit of the Osage-orange is a nuisance in the home landscape and has little value. Hedge apples are not an important source of food for wildlife as most birds and animals find the fruit unpalatable. The thorny trees do provide nesting and cover for wildlife. The belief about the use of hedge apples for insect control is widespread and persistent. it is claimed that placing hedge apples around the foundation or inside the basement will repel or control insects. A few years ago, Iowa State University toxicologists extracted compounds from hedge apples. When concentrated, these compounds were found to repel insects. Scientists also found that natural concentrations of these compounds in the fruit were too low to be an effective repellent. So, don't be fooled into spending much to use hedge apples as an insect repellent. If you decide to pick hedge apples to check out the repellency yourself or to use the fruit as a fall decoration, it would be wise to wear gloves. The milky juice present in the stems and fruit of the Osage-orange can irritate the skin.

Is there any use for hedge apples, other than playing softball that is? Unfortunately, the seeds are a bit difficult to extract. This is why squirrels make such a huge mess in your yard while they are eating. To get the seeds, first wash your hedge apple. Next, cut your hedge apple into slices. Inside of the hedge apple, you will find stringy flesh that you cannot eat in the center. This flesh will be surrounded by hundreds of tiny seeds that look similar sesame seeds. The seeds will be trapped in a very sticky substance inside the husk. You need to remove the seeds from the fleshy part of the apple, then wash away all of the slime. Next, dry your seeds and remove them from their tiny husks. Your hedge apples can now be roasted, just like sesame seeds. You can roast them dry or toss them in some olive oil first. When this is done, you can use the hedge apple seeds in any recipe that calls for sesame seeds. They can be used to top rolls or breads, or spread over a salad if you want to give it a slight crunch.
I think I would prefer softball. By the way, don't let one hit you in the head - it hurts!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Blooms Along the Brook

2011-09-15T20:47:00.001-04:00

Historic Springhouse

Despite the record rainfall and floods of spring, the summer has been dry. Looking around the Preserve, not much seems to be in bloom.

Arrowroot in Upper Pond

Only a little water is in the upper pond, and some trickles through the springhouse, as always. The small streambed leaving the springhouse is dry and bare as it goes beneath the drive.

Goldenrod

As you walk away from the drive, the miracle of nature appears. The water from the Springhouse follows a hidden underground pathway, and suddenly it surfaces. The stream is not large or deep, but it provides the moisture needed for all the autumn wildflowers to bloom profusely. In just a few yards, rich autumn colors and aromas draw in hundreds of pollinators, including beetles, butterflies and bees. Goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky, and contrary to common belief, it does not cause hayfever. Its pollen is too heavy to float around; the real culprit is Ragweed, which blooms around the same time. There are about 30 species of Goldenrod, so you are right if you think it doesn't always look the same!

Jewelweed

One of my favorite late season bloomers is the Jewelweed, which comes in this spotted orange or a yellow version. Hummingbirds and Tiger Swallowtails love the large forward curving spur which is a doorway to nectar heaven. It thrives in moist areas such as our little brook. You may know this one as Touch-me-not, becasue the seed pods burst explosively open when touched! Take a look at my friend's NatureSpeak blog for terrific details about these delicate flowers.

Jewelweed
Droplets of water standing on the leaves reflect the light and appear jewel-like, hence the common name. Juice from the mashed leaves and stems can be applied as a poultice to skin to alleviate irritation from poison ivy and the sting of nettles. If you see this, pull one of the flowers and rub it on the itch for instant relief! ~Tavia

Indian or White Snakeroot

Snakeroot contains toxins that can pass from cattle to humans through milk, which in pioneer days casued severe illness and often death. This "milksick" disease is thought to have killed Abraham Lincoln's mother. It was often used by Native American tribes to treat fever, diarrhea, and problems of the urinary tract. ~Tavia

Ageratum or Blue Mist Flower

Tavia calls this fuzzy flower Ageratum, but I also found it identified as Blue Mist Flower. The little clusters of flowers grow so close together they do look rather misty, don't they?

Ironweed and Common Buckeye Butterfly

Fall is a good time for purple flowers...

Bull Thistle

The Scots Thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. Legend says that a Viking invader stepped on a thistle and yelled, alerting the Scots and allowing them to defend themselves from the Norsemen. This superstition continues today that whoever wears the thistle will be safe from harm - unless they step on it, of course! ~Tavia

Pokeweed

...and not only purple flowers, but purple berries. Pokeweed is commonly called "Poke Sallet"; you may remember an old song about Poke Sallet Annie (a gator got her Grannie, chomp, chomp!) It's the only plant I can think of that has the blossom and several stages of ripening dark purple fruit on the same red stem. Just be sure not to park your car nearby, because the birds love these berries!

Early pioneers used the juice of the purple berries for ink, which led to this plant being called Inkweed. Pokeweed is well known in the south as a tasty cooked green. However, the berries, seeds, roots, and mature stems and leaves are very poisonous. ~Tavia

Nutsedge

"Sedges have edges; rushes are round; grasses are hollow right up from the ground." I love little poems that help me distinguish similar plants. Although the leaves look like grass, put your fingers on the stem of a sedge and discover that it is triangular in shape! Do the same for a member of the mint family and you'll find that its stems are square.

Porcelain Berry Vine

Vines can be hard to tell apart too, but watch out for the Porcelain Berry vine. With indented leaves and white/blue/purple berries with spots, it looks rather attractive, but it is highly invasive. If you go to the Jefferson County Parks headquarters at Joe Creason Park (across from the zoo) you will find this vine growing on everything that stands still. It will choke them out, killing everything.

The next time you visit the Nature Preserve, walk down by one of our Eagle Scout bridges and take a look at the many fall blooming wildflowers. See if you can find the watercress growing in the brook!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Hummmming Along at the Nature Preserve

2011-08-30T16:51:00.001-04:00

When you come to Mahan Manor at the Nature Preserve, look at the garden right by the driveway. Several hummingbird feeders hang there, where they are a popular spot for our family of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Since the Ruby-throated is the only Hummingbird which breeds in eastern North America, this identification is pretty easy. The staff enjoys watching from the kitchen window as they zoom around, chasing each other away from the feeders, chirping and humming.

Scientists place hummingbirds and swifts in the same taxonomic order, the Apodiformes. The name means “without feet,” which is certainly how these birds look most of the time. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd think they don't have wings either since they can flap 53 times per second, making the wings pretty well invisible. The extremely short legs of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prevent it from walking or hopping. The best it can do is shuffle along a perch. Nevertheless, it scratches its head and neck by raising its foot up and over its wing.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird does not show a strong preference for any particular color of feeder. Instead, it prefers specific feeder locations. But Ruby-throated Hummingbirds prefer to feed on red or orange flowers, which is probably why the manufacturers make feeders red. Like many birds, they have good color vision and can see into the ultraviolet spectrum, which humans can’t see. Please don't use the commercial nectar mix with red dye. It's easy to make nectar yourself using 1/4 cup of sugar per cup of plain water.They love it! The nectar needs to be changed often, especially if you have ants, and the feeder should be well scrubbed too.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feed on the nectar of red or orange tubular flowers such as trumpet creeper, cardinal flower, honeysuckle, jewelweed, bee-balm, red buckeye and red morning glory, as well as at hummingbird feeders and, sometimes, tree sap. Hummingbirds also catch insects in midair or pull them out of spider webs. Their main insect prey includes mosquitoes, gnats, fruit flies, small bees and also spiders. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds sometimes take insects attracted to sap wells or pick small caterpillars and aphids from leaves.

Although hummers look as if they are drinking through a straw with those long beaks, they really don't. They lap up nectar with their tongues from flowers and feeders. A Hummingbird's tongue is grooved like the shape of a "W", and has tiny hairs on the tip to help lap up nectar. Its beak is generally shaped like any other bird beak, just longer in proportion to its body. The edges of the top beak overlap the edges of the bottom beak, and the bottom beak is slightly flexible.

The gorget is the red coloring on the throat of the males. Depending on the light, it sometimes looks black instead of red. This is an immature male who is just growing his red gorget. It looks like he has five o'clock shadow, doesn't it? Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds don’t stick around long. Pairs are together long enough for courtship and mating – just a matter of days to weeks. Then he’s off on his own, and may begin migration by early August. The female raises her family all by herself, making a nest the size of large thimble, directly on top of the branch rather than in a fork. It’s made of thistle or dandelion down held together with strands of spider silk and sometimes pine resin. She incubates the pea-sized eggs for about two weeks, and in another three weeks they are ready to leave the nest.

Like all hummingbirds, Ruby-throats are precision fliers with the ability to fly full out and stop in an instant, hang motionless in midair, and adjust their position up, down, sideways, and backwards with minute control. They dart between nectar sources with fast, straight flights or sit on a small twig keeping a lookout, bill waving back and forth as the bird looks around. Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds aggressively defend flowers and feeders, leading to spectacular chases and dogfights, and occasional jabs with the beak.

Look how long her wings are when they are still! Sometimes their eyes look like eyes on people painted in Egyptian tombs, with a large white space around the dark center. That effect is the result of white feathers around the small completely dark eye. Hummingbirds migrate to Central American by flying across the Gulf of Mexico in a 20 hour marathon flight. They do NOT hitchhike on the backs of geese, eagles or any other bird!

They will be leaving the Kentucky area before too much longer, so it is important to keep your feeders full of fresh nectar during September. Hummingbirds will not get addicted to a hummingbird feeder filled with nectar, and will leave when they need to. But a Hummingbird can double his/her weight before migration, so it needs a good supply of food before leaving on migration.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Blackbird, Blackbird

2011-08-17T16:24:00.002-04:00

Black Vultures

It's not easy to tell birds apart sometimes, especially if they are the same color, like black. There are some things to watch for which can help. If you see large birds circling in the sky like this, they are probably vultures, riding the warm air thermals. But how to tell which kind of vulture? There are two, you know. Click on the picture to enlarge it, and look at the wingtips on these birds - just a bit of white at the tips means they are Black Vultures.

Black Vulture

Closer up, you can see that the Black Vulture has a black head, of course. They are smaller than the Turkey Vulture, with a short, stubby tail. Black Vultures are aggressive, and will steal a find from Turkey Vultures.

Turkey Vulture

A flying Turkey Vulture is much larger, and holds its wings in a shallow V shape called a dihedral. Also, you will notice the silver feathers on the underside of its wings. It's very distinctive. Turkey Vultures have a red head, which you will only see if it lands nearby. Turkey Vultures find a carcass by their sense of smell. Most birds have a poor sense of smell, but Turkey Vultures can smell a dead mouse under the leaves from 200 feet over the forest canopy. Oil companies in Texas would put the scent of a dead animal in their gas lines then look for circling vultures to find a leak in the line.

American Crow

OK, here's and important distinction. You see a big black bird in the sky. Is it a vulture or a crow and how can you tell the difference? A vulture holds its wings out and soars without flapping much at all. A crow flaps its wings pretty consistently to stay aloft. Crows used to be just country birds when I was a girl, but now they can be found all over town.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Once in a while that black bird in the air looks really huge, and it just might be a juvenile Bald Eagle. Eagles take five years to develop their white head and tail. I once spotted an Eagle among a circling kettle of vultures!

Red Winged Blackbird

How about some smaller black birds? In the spring Red Winged Blackbirds are all over, singing conkoree as they defend their territories against other males! The red epaulet on the shoulder makes this identification easy, but sometimes you only see the yellow, and not the red. They are still adult male Red Winged Blackbirds, but they are being peaceful and non-aggressive, usually at a feeding area. The female looks like the biggest sparrow you ever saw.

European Starling

The European Starling is the most common black bird. They were first introduced to the United States in 1890. Rumor has it that one hundred starlings were released in Central Park in hopes that all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works would become established in the New World. In the case of the starling, the wish became reality. In the intervening hundred years the starling population has grown to an estimated 150-200 million birds. European starlings are habitat generalists, able to exploit a large variety of habitats, nest sites and food sources. They will eat almost anything, including a diverse array of invertebrates, fruits, and seeds. In addition, they are lowland birds that do well in large open areas such as fields and marshes. These traits, in combination with a long-standing ability to coexist easily with humans, has enabled them to take advantage of agricultural fields, livestock facilities, sewage treatment facilities, garbage dumps, cities and other human related sources of food and nest sites. European starlings are highly colonial, gathering in huge flocks which may number in the thousands, to feed and roost. They are aggressive and gregarious and easily compete with native birds for resources.

Brown-headed Cowbird

Starlings may often be confused with Brown-headed Cowbirds. The Brown-headed Cowbird is a stocky blackbird with a fascinating approach to raising its young. Females forgo building nests and instead put all their energy into producing eggs, sometimes more than three dozen a summer. These they lay in the nests of other birds, abandoning their young to foster parents, usually at the expense of at least some of the host’s own chicks. Once confined to the open grasslands of middle North America, cowbirds have surged in numbers and range as humans built towns and cleared woods.

Common Grackle

Common Grackles are blackbirds that look like they've been slightly stretched. They're taller and longer tailed than a typical blackbird, with a longer, more tapered bill and glossy-iridescent bodies. Grackles walk around lawns and fields on their long legs or gather in noisy groups high in trees, typically evergreens. They eat many crops (notably corn) and nearly anything else as well, including garbage. In flight their long tails trail behind them, sometimes folded down the middle into a shallow V shape. Common Grackles appear black from a distance, but up close their glossy purple heads contrast with bronzy-iridescent bodies. A bright golden eye gives grackles an intent expression. You’ll often find Common Grackles in large flocks, flying or foraging on lawns and in agricultural fields. They strut on their long legs, pecking for food rather than scratching. At feeders Common Grackles dominate smaller birds. When resting they sit atop trees or on telephone lines, keeping up a raucous chattering.

American Coots

Yes, you can even find black birds on the water. Often mistaken for a duck, the American Coot is a common waterbird. Its all black body and white chicken-like beak distinguish this swimming rail from the real ducks. Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck. Instead of having all the toes connected by webs, each coot toe has lobes on the sides of each segment.

You can find many of these birds at the Nature Preserve, so keep your eyes open as you hike around!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Native Grasslands

2011-07-28T10:37:00.004-04:00

Kentucky’s native grasslands have almost disappeared by the 21st Century, but it is important to restore and protect these areas. Early settlers found vast forests, except in south-central and western Kentucky, where they rode for days on horseback without being able to see over the top of the grass.

Controlled Burn

The Indians had repeatedly burned the forests that once covered the region as a means to stampede and kill big game. These fires created an open savanna that in turn drew all types of wild game to feed off its lush grasses. Buffalo herds migrated eastward across the Mississippi to Illinois, and then to Kentucky. These herds came to the Barrens and multiplied, providing food and clothing for the Indians. Settlers found the treeless areas easy to cultivate. Originally the pioneers thought the treeless grasslands infertile because of the lack of forestation. They soon found the soil to be some of the best that they had encountered. Farms and communities soon began to cover the area.

Northern Bobwhite

Native grasses provide many benefits, such as shelter and nutrition to wildlife and birds, which non-native grass and crops do not. Native bunch grasses grow upright with spaces between each bunch. This growth form makes them ideal wildlife habitat—providing protective cover, quality nesting areas, and open travel lanes. In addition, once established, these grasses are more nutritious for wildlife than nonnative grasses such as fescue. Animals commonly found in such communities include quail, deer, rabbit, turkey, migratory songbirds, and small mammals such as voles and mice. The rabbits and small mammals in turn attract larger predators such as fox, coyote, and raptors.

Most of the grass we see today is not native. We plant fescue and bluegrass in our yards, but bluegrass came from England. Native grasses include Indian grass, little and big bluestem, prairie dropseed, and side-oats grama.

Big Bluestem and Native Flowers

Native grass communities provide other environmental benefits, including filtering sediments and chemicals from runoff, dispersing water flow, and reducing erosion. Most native grass species develop a strong root system that contributes to an increase in soil fertility, recycling nutrients while alive and returning vital nutrients to the soil as the roots decompose. They also recover quickly after fire or drought. Because many native grasses are adapted to survive in almost any soil conditions, they require no fertilizer or irrigation after planting. Thus, over the long term, planting native grasses and wildflowers can reduce maintenance costs.

Bobwhite Nest in Grass

Grassland birds adapted to these areas, and cannot live elsewhere. These birds eat a variety of foods found in the grasses ranging from grass seeds to crickets, grasshoppers and worms; and in the case of grassland raptors, such as the Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl, small mammals such as meadow voles, small birds, and even small reptiles and amphibians. Grassland birds nest on the ground rather than in trees, using the structure provided by grasses both for the construction of the nest and as cover from predators. Ground nesting behaviour leaves grassland birds vulnerable to disturbances such as mowing or haying during the breeding season. Nest predation and destruction, coupled with loss of habitat, are causing grassland bird populations to drop without a good chance of recovery.

Field Sparrow

After leaving the nest, and later in the life cycle, grasses provide these birds with cover and protection from prey as they often do not fly from a predator, but run through the grasses to escape danger. Native grasses growing in clumps allow these ground runners to escape through passages between the clumps. This Field Sparrow will perch on a waving grass stem to look around, then drop down into invisibility.

Dickcissel

Loss of habitat has lead to decline of grasslands bird populations by 60 to 80% in the last 40 years, according to the Audubon Society's recent list of Top 20 Birds in Decline. Plowing the grasslands for crops, then planting one kind of crop (such as corn) in large areas, creates less diversity, food and shelter. 40 years ago, there were more pastures and fields that birds found acceptable. Since then we have turned farmland into industrial or residential areas, paving over much land entirely, changing and redirecting the amounts of water available.

Invasive Johnson Grass

Invasive plants take over remaining space, grow faster than native plants, and inhibit the growth of native plants. Native animals do not eat these plants, so they spread even more, and the animals have less to eat. Fragmentation of habitat areas is a factor in the decline as well. Although grassland birds may use very small grasslands (under 40 acres, sometimes even under 10 acres) for foraging or other habitat needs, managing areas of at least 40 acres will provide most habitat needs for a diversity of grassland birds. The grass areas we have now may simply be too small for the birds to successfully breed and raise their young.

Big Bluestem and Goldenrod

Creasey Mahan is working to restore the native grasslands on the Preserve at Meadowlark Meadow. Grasslands are being planted with native grasses and wildflowers. The primary grasses are prairie grasses, known as “warm season” or “bunch” grasses. All of these grasses provide food and shelter for wildlife, and help retain water in the soil and prevent erosion.

Black-eyed Susans

Native wildflowers have been added to Meadowlark Meadows to provide food for wildlife and add a scenic quality to the grassland. Primary wildflowers are black-eyed Susan, partridge pea, Illinois bundleflower, common and butterfly milkweeds, purple coneflower and New England aster.

Partridge Pea

If you build it they will come, or so we hope. By planting native grasses and managing them to control invasives, we hope to encourage these declining birds to live on the Preserve where we can all enjoy them. As you walk across these areas at the Preserve next year, keep your ears open for the song of Eastern Meadowlark, Field Sparrows, and maybe the more rare Dickcissel or Grasshopper Sparrow.

Naturally yours,

~denapple and Tavia

Empty Nest

2011-07-20T09:20:00.001-04:00

Robins: 4 Eggs, 4 Weeks from Fred Margulies on Vimeo.

An American Robin can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young. Only 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November. From that point on, about half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next. Despite the fact that a lucky robin can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years.

Females build the nest from the inside out, pressing dead grass and twigs into a cup shape using the wrist of one wing. Other materials include paper, feathers, rootlets, or moss in addition to grass and twigs. Once the cup is formed, she reinforces the nest using soft mud gathered from worm castings to make a heavy, sturdy nest. She then lines the nest with fine dry grass. The finished nest is 6-8 inches across and 3-6 inches high. The process from egg laying to fledging lasts about a month.

The parents feed their chicks 3-4 bites every 30 - 60 minutes, and robins often raise more than one brood during the season. I've seen studies which conclude that the red inside the chick's gaping mouth, along with the "feed me" chirp, stimulates the adults to feed the babies. This is lucky for birds since they foster chicks which aren't their own quite easily.

She does look surprised to find the chicks have left the nest, doesn't she? I enjoyed this great summary of the effort the birds put into raising their young and hope you enjoy it too.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Happy Ending for Tortoise

2011-07-08T16:43:00.005-04:00

It's always nice to have a happy ending to a story, and here is ours. The sulcata tortoise who appeared in a ditch at the Preserve this week has officially been named Radar because of the pink flag we put on her back so she won't get lost again. Although Buddy Freckles did not like her walking around his kitchen at first, they have become tolerant of each other.

Mike and Radar

Our calls to the Kentucky Herpetological Society were answered by one Mike Connor, an officer of the Society who rescues snakes and turtles. He is our hero, since he does this out of the kindness of his heart. He already has three sulcata tortoises, so Radar will be joining a family.

Alfred, Althea, Radar and Tulip

In fact, Radar not only found a new home and new family, she learned to speak English and type to send emails, all in one day! Here is the message we received from her:

Hi everyone, thanks for all your help finding me a new home. I just got unpacked and met my new family. Dad, Alfred is little ruff around the edges and thinks I need some sun to put some color in my shell but I think we’ll be getting along. Mom, Althea is cool! Not much on conversation but she knows the best grasses to munch on and I have a little sister named Tulip. It’s going to be fun being a big sister.

Terrapin Station

We live in a place called Terrapin Station. I don’t know what a terrapin is. It must be like a tortoise. Mom said it’s named after some Thankful Dead people’s song. There is also this big green and white thing I was told it’s a pond for people. People are weird. Anyway got to go, supper is growing. I’m sending some pictures.

The family portrait gives you a good idea of the size these animals can get, but I bet they'll grow even larger before they are through. Radar does look a little pale compared to the others, but with good care and sunshine, she'll do well.

Alfred

Radar asks a good question though. What is the difference between turtle, terrapin and tortoise? According to PetEducation.com, if it has a shell and is a reptile, then it is going to fall into the order Chelonia, which includes 244 different species. For most Americans, the term 'turtle' describes the Chelonians that are aquatic or semi-aquatic. The term 'tortoise' describes a Chelonian that lives primarily on land. 'Terrapin' can describe some freshwater or saltwater turtles, but is a term not often used. In general, tortoises live on land and eat a primarily vegetarian diet, and turtles live in or near the water and eat a meat-based diet or a combination of meat and vegetation. Scientists believe that turtles first appeared during the Triassic era, making them as old as the dinosaurs!

Best wishes to Radar in her new home!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

News on the Tortoise

2011-07-06T17:32:00.005-04:00

One of the herpetologist contacted yesterday says that this is a sulcata tortoise from northern Africa. Obvious it was acquired as an exotic pet, and either escaped or was released at the Nature Preserve. Once again, the Internet is a wealth of information, particularly http://www.sulcata-station.org/ and http://www.anapsid.org/sulcata.html. Here is the best advice:

Please, do your research before you bring home a sulcata tortoise. Like most exotics, these are not easily-kept pets. These tortoises get VERY large, VERY quickly, and they can live well over 50 years. They DO NOT hibernate in winter so you must keep them warm, feed them, and clean up after them year-around.

Reptile rescue organizations nationwide are overwhelmed with rescued sulcata tortoises. If you don't plan to keep the tortoise forever, don't get it in the first place.

Sulcata tortoises evolved in the semi-arid regions of Africa just south of the Sahara Desert. Their digestive tracts have evolved to handle low-nutrient, high-fiber foods like dry grasses and weeds, which are the only sources of nutrition for much of the year in that region. The best way to feed a tortoise is to provide it with a safely-enclosed yard or pen where it can graze on a variety of grasses, grass hay, and certain safe edible weeds like dandelion, plantain, and chickweed. Upon realizing this, many new tortoise owners freak out and reply, "But we live in (somewhere with cold and snowy winters) and it's impossible to let him out to graze!" Specimens can easily reach 24 - 30 inches long, weigh 80 - 100 pounds, and live to be fifty years old.

Since it's the middle of summer, we let her go out in the fenced back yard today, and you can see how she enjoys eating grass in the warm sunshine. David fastened a pink flag around her shell so we can find her when she wanders off. We have not determined who she belongs to yet. However, the Kentucky Herpetological Society meets next week, and we hope to get some advice from them. They do work to find homes for reptiles that have been abandoned by their owners.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Mystery Tortoise

2011-07-05T16:34:00.002-04:00

At today's summer camp session, David Wheeler, one of our top-notch groundskeepers and knowledgeable about almost everything, walked up to the campers with a large tortoise in his hands. We are in the process of laying water lines in various places around the grounds, and David found it trapped in the ditch, unable to climb out. "It's a gopher tortoise," David announced confidently.

We all examined it carefully, taking photos, and watched it move through the grass when we put it on the ground. You expect turtles and tortoises to be slow animals, but this one is a real speedster, especially since it just wanted to escape from us.

The front legs look like flippers at first, but closer examination shows sharp nails, and extra edges useful for digging, while the back legs resemble elephant legs and feet.

The bottom of the shell, called a "plastron" was smooth and flat, so this one is a female. The male's plastron is concave, so it can climb up on the female's back for breeding without tipping off. Look at the distinct, almost rectangular markings.

She seems to have a hook on her mouth that looks like fangs, but I don't think there is such a thing as a vampire tortoise! All through the examination, she moved her legs, trying to get away from us. David washed the mud off with a hose, and released her in our fenced in yard behind Mahan Manor, and 15 minutes later, I was unable to find her.

The Internet is the first place to research a new animal before putting a post on the blog, right? Gopher tortoises are native to Florida, and other states in the far south, and they are actually on the endangered species list! Wait a minute. What would one be doing in Oldham County, Kentucky??? If someone had it illegally and released it, we shouldn't just let it crawl off on the preserve. We don't have the right habitat for it, and how could it possibly survive a Kentucky winter? David found her again, and we put her in a box for a more thorough identification.

In fact, one of our volunteers, David Singewald, is a marine biologist, so we put him on the job. (And he thought we only wanted him to mow the grass!) Photos of our mystery tortoise are on their way to herpetologists around the country. If, in fact, this is an endangered gopher tortoise, we need to get it to the proper authorities so it can be placed in the right habitat. So stay tuned. We'll let you know as we learn anything more about her.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Scattered T-Storms

2011-06-23T09:19:00.003-04:00

It was a typical Tuesday at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve. The bottle brush Buckeyes soaked up the warm sun and temperatures climbed into the 90's.

Campers stood in the shade while they learned about archery...

...and safety with a BB gun.

A Red Shouldered Hawk screamed over and over again as it soared across the blue sky...

...while Ann and Ben Bluebird carried worms and other insects back to their 6 newly hatched chicks. This may be their third clutch this season.

Another Bluebird box has one chick just hatched, while its siblings are still in the egg. The campers got to learn about birds by examining the nests of a Robin, Chickadee and Tree Swallow. Then we looked into the Bluebird and House Wren nests and saw the babies. This is something most children will never get to do, so it was a real thrill.

After lunch, though, the sky started to darken...

...and threaten...

...and the low rumbling of distant thunder got louder and closer as the wind picked up.

BOOMMMMM!! CRASH! Whoa, it sounded like that lightning hit a tree in the backyard, but it's raining so hard you can't see more than a few feet away. Let's stay in the house until it quits. Maybe we should unplug all the computers too.

It's a good thing we got a new roof on Mahan Manor this year. It's certainly getting a workout today. The downspouts are pouring water into the yard, and we hope it doesn't leave a hole in the ground next to that bush. Yep, it's just a typical summer Tuesday in the Ohio Valley.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Hello and Goodbye

2011-06-21T15:08:00.001-04:00

Say hello to Herman, the new mascot at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve. Herman is a young white tailed deer, and part of the small herd residing at the Preserve. He was born in 2010, and is now starting to grow his first antlers. We put out salt and mineral blocks, and occasionally feed them corn.

Herman seems unafraid of people, approaching anyone who seems friendly. People may enjoy this activity, but Herman is placing himself at risk, since people, unfortunately, can't always be trusted. He's been going for snacks with some of the neighbors, who can't resist this cute guy. Herman licks people for the salt from their sweat. As he matures and grows into an adult buck, this may not be so much fun. Please, if you see Herman at the Preserve, enjoy the opportunity to observe a wild creature up close, but resist the temptation to pet or feed him. Deer should be afraid of people, for both their safety and ours.

Adell was found hanging around a neighbor of Tavia's a few weeks ago, and Raptor Rehabilitation of Ky. came to get her. We call her Adell because she was put in a Dell computer box for the trip to the Rehab Center. It seemed an appropriate name. (Click any photo for a larger version.)

After a while, it was decided that nothing was really wrong, and the bird could be released back into the wild. Since Raptor Rehab was scheduled to come to our Ravishing Raptors Open House on June 18, it was the perfect time and place for the release. When the crate opened, she didn't hesitate but flew directly to a large pine tree near the parking lot.

As often happens at these releases, Adell was instantly spotted by a pair of Northern Mockingbirds. Crows, Blue Jays and Mockingbirds are among the most persistent of birds known for mobbing hawks. That is, these smaller birds will chase and harass the larger hawk any time they see one. Some people say it's to defend their own nests, or to warn other nesting birds nearby. But I have seen this mobbing behavior in other seasons when there are no nests to be found. I think they do it just to be mean.

As a young bird, poor Adell didn't know what to do. Here she is in a new location, and the neighbors just aren't being nice at all! She turned around and moved from branch to branch trying to avoid the Mockingbirds. Eventually, she learned the first lesson and simply flew away to a quieter part of the woods.

Adell has an unusual coloration for a Red Tailed Hawk. Her breast is a distinct rusty color, while most Red Tails have a white or creamy breast. If she stays in this area, we will be sure to recognize her and wish her well. These photos are all taken by Tavia Cathcart, since I was part of the Raptor Program that day and actually made the release!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

When You Find a Baby Bird

2011-06-08T15:33:00.003-04:00

David Wheeler and Little Friend

It's that time of year - baby bird season. Lots of people are finding baby birds in their yards, and want to help, bless them. Little birds can be so ugly they are cute. Unfortunately, a well-meaning human can be the death of a baby bird.

Baby Tufted Titmouse

Here's the problem. Birds, especially small song birds, grow up at an amazing pace. Sometimes it gets crowded with a nest of four babies, and one may fall or be pushed out of the nest. They are often ready to fledge (or fly and leave the nest) long before they look grown up. And long before they are ready to survive on their own.

People find these apparently helpless birds hopping on the ground and assume they have been abandoned by their parents. Usually this is not the case at all. Birds are wonderful dedicated parents, and if you step back and watch for a while, the parent is sitting nearby keeping a sharp eye out for the well-being of this baby.

Years ago, Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve had a rehabilitation center, and people still call us about injured or orphaned birds even though we are no longer involved in such activities. The best thing to do if you find a baby bird is nothing. I know that sounds cold hearted, but believe me, the parents are probably sitting their wishing you would just go away and leave their baby alone!

If you can find and reach the nest safely, try to put the baby back in it. Adults need to do this, not your human children please. And please, please, PLEASE do NOT try to raise the baby yourself. First, it is very difficult to determine what kind of bird this may be since most birds without feathers look the same, and you do not know what to feed it. Second, baby birds need to be fed about every 40 minutes. Professional rehabilitators of songbirds have been known to take them along everywhere they go (including restaurants and grocery stores) because they cannot leave the babies alone. Read Julie Zickefoose's blog about one of her current rescues.

Click Chart to Enlarge

Remember, all birds (except House Sparrows and European Starlings) are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act, making it illegal to possess, harrass or interfere in any way with any bird. If you are concerned about the bird's safety in your yard because of dogs or cats, put the bird under a bush, and take your pets back in the house. Cats shouldn't be allowed to roam in any event, since the Pasteurella bacteria commonly found in the feline mouth, are extremely hazardous to birds. Even a simple puncture by a tooth can result in a fatal infection. Scratches from claws are also extremely dangerous, as the risk of infection is very real. Click here for a larger pdf version of this decision chart and some more sound advice on caring for baby birds.

If you are really concerned about the bird you've found, contact a licensed rehabilitator. Remember that rehabbers usually specialize (mammals, raptors only, etc.) and may not be able to care for the song bird you found. To Find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area, contact:

•Your state wildlife agency

•City Animal control officer

•Veterinarian (wildlife/exotic)

•US Fish & Wildlife Service

•Wildlife Rehab Info Directory

PS - The mother will not abandon the baby if touched by human hands. Birds have a very poor sense of smell.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Mimic Birds

2011-05-31T18:54:00.004-04:00

As you walk through the Nature Preserve, you may hear a veritable flock of different birds singing at the same time. Sometimes you truly are hearing different birds, such as House Wrens, Bluebirds, Carolina Wrens, House Finches, Cardinals and Chipping Sparrows. However, if all those birds seem to be singing from the same branch in the same tree, you may be listening to a concert by the Northern Mockingbird.How can you tell if one bird is making all those sounds or not? Count how many times the song is repeated. If you hear the same song three or more times, then switch to another song three or four times, you have a Mockingbird. These birds also sing at night, but it's just the young bachelors having an all night party. As soon as they find mates, the females will make them stay home at night! I intended to have sound for each bird, as well as photos, but ran into some serious technical difficulties when trying to get the it to work in Blogger. Sorry 'bout that. If you would like to hear the song anyway, when you finish reading this post, go to eNature.com and search for the bird by name. They have terrific resources.

If you have Mockingbirds at home, you know they can be quite aggressive. Mine will chase all the other birds away from the feeder when he's hungry, or even if he isn't hungry. After all, it's a matter of territorial rights! Occasionally a Mockingbird will stand on the ground, and raise his wings up for a bit, then put them down again. I call it the Batman move, as if Batman is holding his cape out. The theory for this behavior is that the shade under his wings fools insects into coming out to be eaten. It's a good opportunity for the bird watcher to see the bold white wingbars while the bird stands still. Mockingbirds have also been know to imitate cell phone rings, so don't be surprised to answer your phone and have no one there.

Another mimic bird is the Brown Thrasher. Brown Thrashers may be confused with thrushes but are larger, have longer tails, and are streaked (not spotted) below. They belong to the same family as the Mockingbird but, unlike that species, are retiring and secretive. They often feed on the ground, scattering dead leaves with their beaks as they search for insects. In recent years they have become scarce in much of their range; no one knows why. When it sings, it repeats a phrase only twice.

The Gray Catbird gives a long, irregular succession of musical and mechanical notes and phrases, but listen for the cat-like mewing. Sometimes it seems to mimic other birds. This bird is often seen in suburban gardens where It forages mainly on the ground, gleaning insects from litter and low bushes and eating fallen berries during late summer and fall. It does not uncover litter with its feet like a sparrow but pokes with its bill, turning leaves and twigs to find the food underneath. Formerly known simply as the "Catbird," this bird has had its name changed officially to Gray Catbird because there is an all-black species, the Black Catbird, in southern Mexico. (After all, we don't want anyone in Kentucky to get confused, now, do we?) It often announces its presence by a harsh, cat-like whine issuing from a dense tangle of vegetation; the bird responds to an imitation of this call, popping suddenly into view for a better look.

Although sometimes disliked because they chase smaller birds away from feeders, Blue Jays are among the handsomest of birds. They often bury seeds and acorns, and since many are never retrieved they are, in effect, tree planters. They regularly mob predators, and their raucous screaming makes it easy to locate a hawk or a roosting owl. Although seen all year, they are migratory and travel in large loose flocks in spring and fall. They make raucous jay-jay, harsh cries, and a rich variety of other calls. One is almost identical to the scream of the Red-shouldered Hawk, and suckers me in every time! I remember the more musical tweedle-dee call from my grandmother's farm as a child.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Leaves of Three

2011-05-23T16:51:00.000-04:00

Hopefully, most people are familiar with the saying, Leaves of three, let it be. That's Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy is native to North America and tends to grow along the edges- edges of forests, edges of roads, edges of streams and lakes, and edges of lawns are where you will see huge amounts of Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy can grow in many ways also. It can creep along the ground, growing new roots as it spreads. It climbs trees growing large hairy vines. It can be a small plant or large shrub. In dense forests, it doesn't get enough sun to grow well, and in open fields, the grasses tend to crowd it out. Poison Ivy has very tough roots, and once established, it is quite difficult to get rid of. Visit Poison-Ivy.org for terrific information about this troublesome plant.

Poison Ivy can be very difficult to identify though. The only constant is its three leaves, but since many other plants have three leaves as well, this may not always be relied on. Sometimes the leaves of Poison Ivy are notched, and sometimes they aren't. Same for shiny leaves and red stems. Sometimes the leaves are small, and sometimes they grow to enormous size. In the spring, newly sprouting leaves may be red. In the autumn, the leaves turn beautiful colors, but please don't add them to you fall arrangements!

The rash that Poison Ivy causes humans is from the sap, which has an oil called "urushoil" in it. Urushoil only comes out of the plant where it is damaged; however, Poison Ivy is very fragile and breaks easily. Wind, animals, or chewing insects can cause urushoil to be released. When urushoil gets on your skin, your skin absorbs it slowly. Your skin will then have a reaction, resulting in a red rash with blisters. If urushoil gets on your dog or clothes, it can later transfer to you! If you burn wood with Poison Ivy vines on it, the smoke will carry the oil to your lungs, and a trip to the hospital will probably be necessary. Not everybody is allergic to Poison Ivy, and some people are more allergic than others. If you know you've been exposed, wash the area with cold water as soon as possible. Hot water opens your pours so the oil can enter easier.

It grows small flowers which produce white waxy berries that many birds love.

Animals do not react to the oil as humans do, but your pet might get the oil on its coat, to be transferred to you when you pet him. Many animals can eat Poison Ivy without harm, thank goodness!

Virginia Creeper is often mistaken for Poison Ivy since it also climbs trees, but it you look carefully, you will see that it has five leaves, rather than three. From some angles you may only view three and this leads to the confusion. Virginia Creeper does not cause any skin reactions. Jack in the Pulpit, a wildflower, also has three leaves as it grows close to the ground.

Since it is a native plant, Poison Ivy has developed relationships with other native plants and animals over the ages. Click this picture for a larger more readable version, and count up the animals that use it for food or shelter. You won't find this with invasive plants! So watch where you step or grab as you walk around the Preserve.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

April Showers Bring...

2011-05-04T21:47:00.000-04:00

Remember the Disney movie Fantasia? One part of this animation set to classical music has little mushrooms dancing around to the Nutcracker Suite as Chinese characters . Louisville’s monthly rainfall total of 13.97 inches for April 2011 easily topped the record for 1970 April rainfall total of 11.10 inches, and as I walked up the drive at the Preserve, all the mushrooms were having a growth spurt. My mind started seeing fairies using the mushrooms as umbrellas during the downpour.

Other mushrooms make good wash basins for the fairies who don't care about staying dry. The more water these catch the better. Or perhaps these were the fairy umbrellas blown inside-out by a wind gust.

But it looks as if some of the mushrooms themselves want to shelter beneath their neighbors' overlapping caps.

The fairies might use these mini-mushrooms as dinette tables.

Reproductive spores are produced from the gills on the underside of a mushroom, although they are too small to be seen with the naked eye. The main body of a fungus is usually hidden underground.

Jelly fungi have a gelatinous to rubbery feeling when moist, then shrivel in dry weather. This one is called Witch's Butter. Next time you see some, go ahead and touch it. You will be surprised at its texture!

Identifying fungi is just as hard as learning to identify flowers or birds, but maybe more so since an entirely different set of terms is required to describe fungi. This one may be a cinnabar polypore, but for now I'll just think of it as a red shelf fungus. People who study fungi are called mycologists. Current estimates put the number of species in this kingdom at 1.5 million, compared to 250,00 species of flowering plants. Maybe when I get to be an expert at birds, wildflowers, butterflies and dragonflies I can take on the study of fungi. Until then, I'll just marvel at them, and appreciate their role in the food web. And as fairy houses!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

What's in a Name?

2011-05-02T18:10:00.000-04:00

Prairie Warbler

For a birder, or a person who loves wildflowers, it's hard enough learning the name and appearance of the bird or flower so you can recognize them in the field. There are so many, and often they tend to resemble each other in many ways. But the actual name of the bird usually doesn't help at all in identifying the bird. For example, this Prairie Warbler doesn't live in the prairie, but can be found in brushy pastures, low pines, and mangroves. How in the world did these birds receive the names we struggle so to learn? And why, for heaven's sake, are they so confusing?

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a classic example of a bird with a misleading name. Most of us only see the black and white back and red on its head. Where is the red belly it is named for? In the early days of ornithology, say the 1700's and 1800's, naturalists had no binoculars or spotting scopes to take into the field. Instead, they "collected" the birds they wanted to study with a shotgun! John James Audubon, artist, early ornithologist, and now synonymous with bird conservation, said, "I wish I had eight pairs of hands, and another body to shoot the specimens." He often shot 50 or more individuals of the same species so he could make comparisons of them.

Red belly visible on Red-bellied Woodpecker

When a dead Red-bellied Woodpecker is laid on its back, the pale wash of red on the belly becomes immediately apparent, but since woodpeckers normally clutch the bark tightly we don't often get to see their bellies. These early ornithologists were crack shots, and also did their own taxidermy. Audubon would pin the bird to a board marked with grid lines to pose it in a lifelike position for his drawings. These collectors donated their collections to museums which still have them. It's not very attractive though, to me at least, to look at rows of dead birds lying on their backs with their little feet all curled up.

Lincoln's Sparrow

The Lincoln's Sparrow was named by Audubon for his assistant Thomas Lincoln. He wrote: "But if the view of this favoured spot was pleasing to my eye, how much more to my ear were the sweet notes of this bird as they came thrilling on the sense, surpassing in vigour those of any American Finch with which I was acquainted, and forming a song which seemed a compound of those of the Canary and Wood-lark of Europe. I immediately shouted to my companions, who were not far distant. They came, and we all followed the songster as it flitted from one bush to another to evade our pursuit. No sooner would it alight than it renewed its song, but we found more wildness in this species than in any other inhabiting the same country, and it was with difficulty that we at last procured it. Chance placed my young companion, THOMAS LINCOLN, in a situation where he saw it alight within shot, and with his usually unerring aim, he cut short its career. On seizing it, I found it to be a species which I had not previously seen; and, supposing it to be new, I named it Tom's Finch, in honour of our friend LINCOLN, who was a great favourite among us. Three cheers were given him, when, proud of the prize, I returned to the vessel to draw it, while my son and his companions continued to search for other specimens. Many were procured during our stay in that country."

Baltimore Oriole

Those early ornithologists had another problem as they wandered through the American wilderness looking for birds. They didn't seem to realize that these birds migrated around the country, so they named the bird for the first place in which it was found. Thus, the Baltimore Oriole, the Kentucky Warbler, or the Nashville Warbler, can be found in many other areas of the country.

Carolina Chickadee

Sometimes we birders get lucky and birds are named for the sounds they make. Chickadees rattle chick-a-dee-dee-dee as they hang upside down on the branches searching for the tastiest bugs. Blue Jays call their harsh jay-jay-jay sound along with other melodic songs, as well as mimicking hawks and other birds. The Northern Mockingbird was named for its ability to mimic just about anything it hears. Now they can be found singing like cell phones, so some day we may need to rename them!

During the middle 1800's, naturalists included many Army officers and doctors who explored the western part of the country. Gambel named this cute little quail after himself, while Swainson has a thrush and a hawk named for him. Harlan, Baird, and Bewick all have birds named for them. As more new species were found, more and more naturalists recognized the need to classify American birds and what to call them. In the early 1880's the publication of dueling, and contradictory, bird lists led to the foundation of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1883. By 1886 the first official checklist was published. Gone was the welter of local and colloquial names. Now someone was in charge of naming the birds, and applying scientific names as well. Modern DNA testing has led to the reclassification of many birds. So when you can't remember if it's called the Northern Oriole or the Baltimore Oriole now, since they keep changing the name of this bird, now you know who to complain to! For the current official checklist of North American birds, just click here.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Help! We've Been Invaded

2011-04-18T16:01:00.003-04:00

Kudzu

While we enjoy the spring wildflowers, I hope you all notice some other plants that sprout in spring too - plants we call invasives. Historically, an "invasion" occurs when someone enters a country uninvited, for the purpose of taking it over. Unfortunately, many of our invasives were actually invited in, their use recommended by the US Dept of Agriculture and spread by landscapers. Kudzu is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was widely planted throughout the eastern United States in an attempt to control erosion. (Oh, I found this photo on the Web, and it was taken in Floyd County, KY.) I searched for a good definition, and found this at Invasive.org:

An invasive species is a non-native species (including seeds, eggs, spores, or other propagules) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harm to human health. The term "invasive" is used for the most aggressive species. These species grow and reproduce rapidly, causing major disturbance to the areas in which they are present.

Multiflora Rose

Invasive species, if left uncontrolled, can and will limit land use now and into the future.
The longer we ignore the problem the harder and more expensive the battle for control will become.
Invasive species can decrease your ability to enjoy hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating and other outdoor recreational activities.
The United States suffers from $1.1-120 billion per year in economic losses due to exotic, invasive species.

Approximately 42% of Threatened or Endangered species are at risk due to non-native, invasive species.

Garlic Mustard

As you walk through the Preserve, you will see this green plant with small white flowers growing along the trails. Garlic Mustard can be easily recognized by a garlic odor that is present when any part of the plant is crushed and by the strongly toothed, triangular leaves. A high shade tolerance allows this plant to invade high-quality, mature woodlands, where it can form dense stands. These stands not only shade out native understory flora but also produce allelopathic (chemical) compounds that inhibit seed germination of other species. Garlic mustard is native to Europe and was first introduced into New England during the 1800s for medicinal and culinary purposes. I've spent hours pulling Garlic Mustard, which can be easily done now while it's small before the seeds set, then turned around to see ten times as much remaining. It's highly frustrating. It spreads quickly by floods or animals, and requires continuous monitoring for five years. Please feel free to yank as many handfuls as you can as you hike the Preserve.

Autumn Olive

Autumn Olive is a shrub that can grow to 20 feet tall, with silvery undersides on the leaves and small fragrant white blossoms. Fruits are red, juicy, and edible, ripening from September to November. Autumn Olive invades old fields, woodland edges, and other disturbed areas. It can form a dense shrub layer which displaces native species and closes open areas. Autumn Olive is native to China and Japan and was introduced into North America in 1830. Since then, it has been widely planted for wildlife habitat, mine reclamation, and shelterbelts. When the Preserve opened, it was recommended, and now we are trying to get rid of it since it inhibits the growth of native plants. When our Grounds Manager removed a large stand, I went to see what would happen the next spring, and found wonderful growth of native wildflowers which had been waiting for their chance all those years.

Poison Hemlock Blossom and Leaves

Watch for a carrot-y looking plants growing along the trails in dense clusters. The blossoms resemble Queen Anne's Lace (another invasive), and it can grow up to 10 feet tall by summer. One plant can produce over 30,000 seeds. These plants, when eaten, are poisonous to most animals. Poison hemlock is native to Europe and was introduced into North America in the 1800s as an ornamental.

Poison Hemlock Stem

The Poison Hemlock stems are mottled purple in color, and hollow in the middle. All plant parts are poisonous; however, the seeds contain the highest concentration of poison, highly poisonous alkaloids toxic to all classes of livestock and humans. (It was probably used to poison Socrates in ancient Greece.) Human deaths have occurred from harvesting and consuming the roots as wild carrots or parsnips. It may act as a pioneer species quickly colonizing disturbed sites and displacing natives during early successional areas.

Winter Creeper

Winter Creeper (Euonymus) is an evergreen vine that can form a dense ground cover, but also climbs 40-70 feet up a tree, covering the tree and eventually killing it. Flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, five petaled and develop in mid-summer. Plants usually only flower when climbing and almost never when trailing along the ground. Fruit are pinkish-red capsules that open to show orange seeds.

Winter Creeper in Tree

Winter Creeper aggressively invades open forests, forest margins, and openings. The dense ground cover often resulting from an infestation can displace native understory species and restrict tree seedling establishment. Winter Creeper can also smother and kill shrubs and small trees. Winter Creeper is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1907 as an ornamental ground cover plant.

Bush Honeysuckle

Soon you will notice a wonderful fragrance around the Preserve - Honeysuckle; another highly invasive plant. Often it is one of the first shrubs to leaf out in the spring. The fragrant flowers are tubular, white to yellow in color, thin-petaled and develop in May to June. In September abundant, fleshy berries ripen to red in color and often persist into the winter. Berries are 1/4 in in diameter. Amur honeysuckle readily invades open woodlands, old fields and other disturbed sites.

Honeysuckle Berries

It can spread rapidly due to birds and mammals dispersing the seeds and can form a dense understory thicket which restricts native plant growth and tree seedling establishment. Amur honeysuckle is a native of eastern Asia and was first introduced into North America in 1855. It has been planted widely as an ornamental and for wildlife food and cover. It releases a chemical that prohibits the growth of other native plants. There is also a vine Honeysuckle which is an invasive. The native Honeysuckle (yes, there is one) has a red flower that hummingbirds love.

Japanese Stilt Grass

I'm sorry to rain on your parade like this. I try to encourage people to get out and enjoy nature, and know it's depressing to think about invasives. (At least, I find it to be depressing) But you will see these plants at the Preserve. They are difficult to get rid of. Heck, they are almost impossible just to control, let alone eliminate. Think of these plants as bullies. They come up early in the spring and grow quickly, stunting or preventing the growth of other plants that might compete with them. They reproduce profusely. Nothing here eats them, so the only enemy they have are humans, who brought them to begin with. The people who introduced them intended no harm, I'm sure, but they just didn't think what would happen if these plants escaped cultivation. The story goes on with animals, insects, etc., all of which cause multiple billions of dollars in damage each year. The damage they cause to native plants and animals is incalculable. If you are landscaping this year, ask about using a native plant as an alternative to something foreign. There are several nurseries in the area which promote natives, such as Margaret Shea's Dropseed Nursery. The presence of these plants makes me enjoy our native wildflowers even more.

The Birds are Singing!

2011-04-13T14:31:00.000-04:00

Spring is here and the birds are singing everywhere! It's too cool! I like to bird by ear, since I can be binocular challenged sometimes. It's especially wonderful when a bird that otherwise skulks in the brush lands on an open branch right where I can see it. Today, this Towhee is joined by Cardinals, Tree Swallows, Chipping Sparrows, Mocking Birds, Gold Finches, Blue Birds and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, just to name a few. If you can't make it out to the woods, just open your windows and enjoy the birdsong in your back yard.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

What is that Purple Patch?

2011-04-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

"What in the world are all those purple flowers growing in that field?" When we drive along country fields that have not yet been sown in a crop, we often see patches of purple or purple-red flowers growing in them. (Deciding the correct color for wildflowers is an issue I intend to address in another post. For now, please indulge me in this.)

This field has, without a doubt, the darkest, purplest color growing in a large area I've ever seen! Assuming it to be a gigantic field of Violets, I pull the car to the side of the road and get out. In Texas, I saw fields this color, filled with Texas Bluebonnets.

Ohmigosh! They are Grape Hyacinths! I've never seen that many growing together in the wild! Tavia says they were introduced from Europe and thrive in abandoned lawns and waste places, after escaping from cultivation. Can't you just hear them singing, "Free at last! Thank God, I'm free at last!"

This is the Purple Patch I find in suburban lawns where the residents refuse to pay a lawn service to kill their wildflowers. April 15 Tax Day is one of the best days to see these splendid gatherings of Common Violets.

When I was a Girl Scout we sang a song about Sweet Violets, sweeter than all the roses. Covered all over from head to toe, covered all over in sweet violets. Does anyone else remember that song? Tavia likes to eat them in salads and says they have loads of vitamin C.

Look at the first picture again. Abandoned or unplanted fields will also be covered in this reddish-purple flower growing close to the ground, and I've always been confused about what that might be. The most likely candidate is Purple Dead Nettle aka Red Dead Nettle, which is neither red, nor dead, nor a nettle at all! As you have guessed by now, it is an invasive from Eurasia, thriving in open areas, fields, lawns and waste places, and very difficult to remove once established. This genus has nettle-like leaves, but they lack the sting. The overlapping leaf and flower pattern somewhat resembles a Japanese pagoda. If you peer closely at the small flowers, they are quite lovely and delicate.

A flower similar to the Dead Nettle (well, it is to me at least, and very confusing) is the Henbit, another low to the ground plant with small, delicate purple blooms, found in the same open areas as the Dead Nettle. But look at the leaves on this plant. Notice the bare stem between the leaves, and the way they all cling to the stem. The small blossom points up as well.

The third weedy plant that I find to be confusing is Ground Ivy, or, as my mother-in-law said, Charlie Weed. This is the one that will cover your lawn and flower beds in long mats. You pull one end, and can find four feet of plant with a distinctive odor in your hand. Tavia notes that this species has been used to make ale, reportedly helping those who drank it to extend their lives, cure headaches, pains, inflammations, coughs, and many other ailments. The only thing we know for sure about Charlie Weed is that bees make good honey from its nectar.

Ah, at last, a purple flower that is not a weed! This is the Dwarf Larkspur, or Delphinium. The flowers may be blue, white or bicolored - mixtures of both. Tavia says they are found in damp to dry woods and barrens, preferring calcareous soil. In other words, they like to grow on limestone, which is precisely where we found them along the cliffs of the Ohio River. They are called Dwarf to be distinguished from the Tall Larkspur, but I think the Dwarfs actually resemble little purple men with big hats and white beards! Next time you see a hillside of Larkspur, kneel down for a close look, squint your eyes just so, and see if you agree!

My final entry is the Virginia Bluebell, which isn't purple, but close enough. The buds look dark pink and turn blue as they open. This plant is also called Virginia Cowslip, and was named when the English still referred to Massachusetts as North Virginia. They form spectacular colonies of blue flowers where ever they are found. So many of the early wildflowers are white or yellow that I especially enjoy those of a blue or purple hue, and hope you do too!

Naturally Yours,

~denapple

It's a Bloomin' Flower!

2011-04-03T21:39:00.001-04:00

Wood Poppy

We tend to take flowers for granted. They are pretty and smell nice in the spring. We like to have them in our gardens.We know that flowers must bloom before the fruits can develop, but most people don't consider the miracle of flowers.

Corn Blossom

In fact, flowering plants are by far the largest group of plants and the most important from an ecological standpoint. They inhabit all sorts of environments. They make up the majority of a lot of different habitats, such as grasslands (all the grasses are flowering plants), most forests (except for the boreal forests), and most terrestrial habitats on the face of the planet. They provide food sources and shelters for the organisms that live in these habitats. On a more personal note to humans, they provide us with most of our food and a lot of our shelter materials, such as wood. Different species of insects and mammals may rely on only one flowering plant for food, and that plant relies on the insect/mammal to reproduce. In fact, there would be no people without flowering plants. NOVA has a wonderful discussion of plant development at ttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3405_flower.html.

Fern Frond with Spores

Before flowers, the Earth was covered with green plants like ferns, pines, and the now-extinct seed ferns. Their reproduction was relatively slow and inefficient. Pollination was mostly carried out by the wind. The small brown spots we see on the bottom of a fern frond, for example, are actually the spores waiting to be spread by the wind. They carry nothing to promote successful growth in a new location.

Cream Violet

Flowering plants were the first advertisers in the world. They put out beautiful petals and colorful patterns; they put out fragrances, and they gave a reward, such as nectar or pollen, for any insect that would come and visit them. Sometimes they display stripes and special colors directing the pollinators to the sweet spot! And what were they advertising? They were advertising the sexual organs, the female parts and the male parts that were hidden or positioned within the center of this flower. So if they could attract these mobile pollinators to come and mess around, crawl around, feed in this flower, pick up pollen on the legs, pick up pollen on the body, and then fly to another flower some distance away and repeat this process, they could effectively carry their male genetic material in the pollen grain to another flower. The very earliest flowering plant pollen shows up in rocks, which are of cretaceous age, which is about 134 million years ago.

Red Maple Blossom

The variety of flower appearance and structure is absolutely mind boggling! Compare the spring wildflowers we have been looking at lately with these tree blossoms. We think of apple and other fruit trees as "flowering", but oaks, cottonwoods and all other trees do too. We simply don't recognize their flowers for the most part. Grains such as corn, wheat, oats and rice are all flowering plants too, and we rely on the seeds produced by those inconspicuous flowers for our own food. But the important thing is the way these plants make seeds. A protective covering is created around the part that will grow into a plant, and provided with nourishment to assist that growth, such as the pulp of the apple around apple seeds. This method of reproduction takes a lot of energy on the part of the plant, so it's amazing that plants still make as many seeds as they do. For example, just consider the maple seeds that will soon cover our yards and driveways! Ah, the things Mother Nature will do to make sure her children survive!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

One Week Later...

2011-03-28T21:53:00.001-04:00

During the last week, we've had rain, snow, sunshine, warm temperatures, and cold temperatures. In other words, typical for late March in Kentucky. The spring wildflower season is progressing too.

Last time, we looked at the Yellow Trout Lily. Now the Beaked Trout Lily is blooming. It's similar to the Yellow, but notice how all the petals do not "recurve," that is, curl back up over the blossom.

Bloodroot is about finished blooming. You may see the leaves, with a small seed pod where the blossom had been during its short time with us.

Dutchman's Breeches grow atop feathery leaves in the brown leaf mulch. Squirrel Corn is a look-alike, often confused with Dutchman's Breeches, but Squirrel Corn has a tall vertical stalk and spurs that are more rounded, appearing somewhat heart-shaped.

Tavia: This plant gets its common name from the flowers, which resemble the baggy pants worn by "Dutchmen" hanging upside down on an arching clothesline. Some Native American tribes used this species as a love charm, saying that if the root was nibbled by a man, his breath would attract a woman, even against her will.

When looking for wildflowers, it's important to get down on your knees to appreciate the intricate and delicate structure of many blossoms. Several species will often grow close together, and you can't tell which bloom goes with which leaf without bending down to trace the flower's stem into it's leaf structure. A "weed" is just a wildflower growing where some human might not want it, but they are just as beautiful as any rare blossom. The small flower in the center of this photo is Henbit, a member of the mint family, and is seen in open areas, lawns, fields, and waste places.

Not all Violets are actually violet in color. Today I found some lovely Yellow Violets. The stripes remind me of faces, although it's more likely that they guide pollinators to the nectar.

Tavia: The flowers and leaves of Violets are very high in vitamins A and C. Pound for pound, violet blossoms are said to contain more vitamin C than oranges! They are also wonderful to eat raw or in salads or to decorate a cake.

Yes, I get carried away, or maybe I should be carried away sometimes, but do you see the ballerina in this Trillium, wearing a long green skirt, and reaching above her head with purple arms?

Spring Beauties carpet the forest floor, yet from a distance they disappear altogether. Again, walk slowly, looking both down into the valleys and up along with hillsides to see their small blooms with pink stripes.

Virginia Bluebell is starting to come out now. As the buds emerge, they look purple, then change to blue as they open. They can be found in moist or wet woods, meadows, bottomlands and thickets, often forming spectacular colonies.

Tavia: The stems of this species are nearly hollow, making the plant somewhat fragile. After flowering, the foliage turns yellow and the entire plant will seem to disappear, going dormant until the following spring.

Last week I said the Twinleaf was just beginning to bloom. Well, this week, the Twinleaf is just about finished, and I missed most of it. :( Spring emphemerals are like that.

This part of Kentucky is situated on limestone, which is a very permeable kind of rock. It can be dissolved by acidic water, which is how Mammoth Cave was formed over many millions of years. In our area, this means that small caves and sinkholes can be found. Often, a creek will flow swiftly downstream, delighting the ear with its chuckles, and then a few feet later, the creek bed is completely dry.

If you walk a little way upstream or downstream, listen for the sound of running water. When you hear it, you will probably find the stream bursting forth from the limestone, where it simply disappeared to run underground for a while. Kentuckians used to call these small streams "branches", and we have a road named "Wolf Pen Branch Road" not far from the Nature Preserve. Can you imagine some early settler trapping wolves near the creek? And some folks may still request Bourbon and Branch from their favorite bartender, to indicate they'd like water with their whiskey.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Early Spring Wildflowers

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Early spring flowers are often called ephemerals because they bloom for such a short time. The Bloodroot is a great example of this, since the blossoms will last only one day. It is so exciting to find them growing in the otherwise bare woods though, that I can't stop taking photos of them. Get ready...this post is longer than most, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed finding these flowers! Remember, you can click any photo to see a larger version.

When the shoots push through the soil, the Bloodroot leaf gently curls around the bud, protecting it until it opens entirely. While we haven't found any Bloodroot currently growing in the forest at the Nature Preserve, we will add it to the new Woodland Fern Garden.

Tavia Says:
The Bloodroot rhizome oozes an orange-red juice or sap when cut. Native Americans used the juice as body paint, lending the name Indian Paint. The rhizomes contain the alkaloid "sanguinaire," an antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory ingredient that is used in toothpastes and mouthwashes to help reduce dental plaque and gingivitis. Research indicates that it may also offer protection against skin cancer, however, the plant can be toxic even in small doses.

Another early spring flower that will be grown in the Woodland Fern Garden is Wild Ginger with its heart shaped leaves. The rhizomes of this plant have the taste and smell of true ginger. The flowers are small, and grow upon the ground, so they are easily missed by the casual view.

Tavia Says:
These flowers are pollinated by crawling and flying insects, such as ants, beetles, and flies. The blossom is the color and smell of raw meat, which attracts these meat eating insects. Native Americans used the rhizomes to flavor meat and fish dishes, and to make a tea for relieving many ailments, including indigestion, coughs, heart conditions, cramps, fevers, colds, and sore throats.

Sessile Trillium can be easily found along the banks of Little Huckleberry Creek. Trilliums do everything in threes - three leaves, and three petals on the blossoms. There are many kinds of Trilliums in other locations, but this is the only one we have at the Nature Preserve. If you find a different species, however, please let us know! The Sessile Trillium's flower has no stem, and sits directly on the leaf junction. If you kneel down to smell the flower, it should have a strong carrion odor.

Tavia Says:
It is said that the scent resembles that of raw beef, which explains one of its common names, "Bloody Butchers." The aroma has also been described as that of dead animal tissue and helps attract flies and beetles, which pollinate the plant. (And here I thought bees pollinated flowers! ~denapple)

Cutleaf Toothwort is another early bloomer at the Nature Preserve. By next week, the hillside above Little Huckleberry Creek should be covered with them.

Tavia Says:
The rhizome and leaves of this plant are peppery tasting. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, like other mustard greens. Native Americans made a poultice from the root and used it to treat headaches.

One of my favorite spring wildflowers is the Yellow Trout Lily, of which we have an abundance at the Nature Preserve. An abundance of leaves that is. The name "Trout Lily" refers to the speckling on the leaves so it resembles a trout.

The Trout Lilies growing near each other are all clones - genetically the same and growing from one root system. They fill a hillside with small leaves, but only about 10% of those will actually blossom.

Watch for the "recurved" tepals (or petals) which turn up, distinguishing this from the Beaked Trout Lily, for example.

Tavia Says:

Trout Lilies have been called "living phosphorus sinks," because their roots retrieve phosphorus from the soil and transfer it to the leaves, making it available to herbivores, such as deer. The leaves and roots are edible to humans as well, but may cause an allergic reaction.

Mayapples look like little green umbrellas as they poke up into the sunshine. A plant with one large leaf is a male, while two leaves indicate a female plant that can bear fruit. Mayapples bear a dangling "apple" later in the spring, just at the right height for Box Turtles to eat. A cluster of Mayapples are colonial, in that they have different DNA, unlike the Trout Lily.

Tavia Says:

Other common names for this species include Maypop, Devil's Apple, Duck's Foot, and Hog Apple. Although the ripe fruit can be used to make jelly and preserves, the leaves and rootstocks are poisonous. Etopside, which is prepared from the roots, has been used to treat small-cell carcinoma.

The leaves on a Twinleaf come in (you guessed it...) pairs. I think they resemble kidneys. The leaves will be small while the white flower blooms (with eight petals), then the leaves will grow larger when the bloom ceases.

Tavia Says:
The Latin name for this plant is Jeffersonia diphylla, and it was named for Thomas Jefferson by the American botanist William Bartram. Other common names include Ground Squirrel Pea, Helmet Pod, Rheumatism Roots, and Yellow Root.

There are two kinds of Rue Anenome. The "true" Rue has 5-10 showy sepals...

...while the False Rue has only five sepals or petals. The leaves look very much the same. The blossoms bob in the lightest wind, so be sure to bump up your shutter speed if taking photos of them. The same hillside with the Toothworts and Twinleaf will also have lots of Rue Anemones.

Did you know that our own Tavia Cathcart is the co-author of a wildflower field guide? Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians is a long title, but a wonderful resource about wildflowers no matter what time of year they bloom. Each entry is full of historical references to the flowers as well as their descriptions and wonderful photos. The book can be found anywhere online, or at the Nature Preserve. Come to our next event (Wildflower Open House Saturday on April 16) to get a signed copy.

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Smooth Snakes

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Pygmy Rattle Snake

People have only two reactions when it comes to snakes. Either they fear them or love them. Tavia received responses from many people about our Slithering Snakes Open House today saying they were afraid of snakes and would not attend. I imagine they expect snakes to be giant, poisonous, slimy creatures, much like something you would see in a horror movie. I think snakes have hissss-torically been given a bum rap.

Common Garter Snake

This is probably the best attended Open House we've every had, so there must be just as many people who are fascinated by snakes. We tried to convince everyone that we would only have friendly snakes from our expert at Salato Wildlife Center, much like this little smiling Common Garter snake. Snakes have fascinated me since I held one as a child and felt the smooth skin and muscles squeezing my finger.

Black Rat Snake

I worked hard to get photos of the snakes with their tongues out. The tongues sample scents (chemicals) in the air, transferring them to an organ in the roof of the snake's mouth, so the brain can analyze and identify what's around for lunch.

Corn Snake

Some tongues are black, but others are RED, a real surprise to me!

Common Garter Snake

The biologists from Salato brought five non-venomous Kentucky snakes, and we had a Common Garter snake caught on the preserve. Look at this post from another blog about Garter Snake mating! Whoo-hoo! The program was wonderful - full of information about these reptiles. For example, did you know that lizards have closeable eyelides, while snakes do not? We were all impressed at the knowledge the kids already had about snakes, without any prompting from adults at all. Jamie let them touch the snakes - an important thing to help anyone really learn and get enthused about nature.

Black Kingsnake

Most folks probably know that snakes eat mice and rats. This makes them an ally to Kentucky farmers. However, this Black Kingsnake also eats poisonous snakes, being immune to the venom of Kentucky's pit vipers. We learned that poisonous snakes have vertical pupils in their eyes, while the non-venomous snakes have round pupils. Take a look at the photo of the Pygmy Rattler at the top to see this. (By the way, that snake was stuffed and mounted, not alive, even though it still looks pretty scary.)

Black Kingsnake

I was fascinated by the different patterns on the bellies of these snakes too, which we wouldn't normally see on a wild snake. What possible role could this play in the survival of these animals?

Northern Pine Snake

This Northern Pine snake burrows underground in piney areas, and it's not very common in Kentucky. Jamie woke it up to come to the program and it was not happy, so he got bit. Even though a snake is non-venomous, it still has teeth and will bite if annoyed or frightened. All the kids knew to look at them and leave them alone if a snake is ever found in the wild.

Northern Pine Snake

The Pine Snake's upper skin is rough, but the bottom felt as smooth as shoe leather. The more senses we can use in observing nature, the more fascinating we find it.

Rough Green Snake

This slender Rough Green snake lives in trees, where it blends so well with the leaves that sometimes crickets will land right on its back - certain death for the cricket. This one is not as big around as a pencil. The education snakes were accustomed to their carrying crates, and seemed to be interested in looking out the windows to see what was happening.

We walked down to the frog pond to release the Common Garter snake. He (yes, we determined his gender, which you can tell by looking at the scales on the underside) eats frogs and tadpoles, so this will be a good habitat. All the kids enjoyed the walk, and understood the importance of returning wild creatures to the wild.

Here are some snake riddles:

Q: What subject are snakes good at in school?

A: Hissss-tory!

Q: What kind of snake is good at math?

A: An Adder!

Q: What do snakes do after they fight?

A: Hiss and make up!

If you have never been to Salato, do make the trip to Frankfort some sunny day. In addition to snakes, they have bison, elk, bobcats, bear, and may other animals from Kentucky, as well as a wildflower garden of Kentucky natives. I promise, you will have a terrific time!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

The Sunny Side of the Creek

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As the warm sun calls you to walk in the forest, look carefully in the leaves along the trail. Those leaves make a brown blanket for all the spring wildflowers helping them survive through the winter. As the sun shines through the bare tree branches, these flowers sprout and bloom as soon as they can. When the trees start to leaf out there won't be enough sun for these small flowers, so they must take advantage of the sun while they can. One of the first to bloom is the aptly named Harbinger of Spring. If you don't watch for it, you will miss it altogether. Look at these small white blooms, and compare them to the size of the dead leaves in the background.

When you bend down to look closely, however, the delicate grace of this flower is evident.

That's the way nature is. Some creature or plant may be small and easily overlooked, but worth the effort of taking notice. Yes, the knees of your jeans will get a little dirty and wet, but they can always be washed, right? Click on any of these photos for a larger version.

Where are the best places to find wildflowers at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve? In the early spring, go down along Little Huckleberry Creek and look along the water and the hillside above the creek. Then cross the bridge to the Hidden Spring trail, and look in the valley and along the rocky cliffs on the other side of that creek. In the next few weeks, these hillsides will be full of the early blooming flowers. We will have two kinds of Rue Anemone, False and True. Do you know how to tell the difference? When they start to bloom, we'll give you some pointers. (Confession: I've had it wrong for years!)

Pay particular attention to the position of the sun on the valley. The sunny side of the valley warms faster, and the flowers will bloom there before they bloom on the shady side of the creek. I saw plenty of Toothwort sprouts along Little Huckleberry Creek, but no blossoms. This early, I didn't really expect any. Notice how the leaves look like crow's feet - very "toothy."

But along the limestone cliffs at Hidden Springs, the Toothworts have begun to blossom. In a while the hillsides will be full of them.

Little Huckleberry Creek is also a great habitat for Trout Lilies and Sessile Trillium. Both are sprouting, but you have to look closely. The Trillium has three leaves, but when they poke through the ground, they are wrapped around each other, and will open wider.

Both the Sessile Trillium and Trout Lily have variegated leaves - that is green with splotches of brown or darker green. The Trout Lily grows only one small leaf at a time. Again, comparing them to the dried leaves gives an idea of their small size.

There are many kinds of Trillium, as you see in all wildflower field guides, but the Sessile Trillium blossom is attached to the leaves, nestling among them, while others will nod down on a stem of their own.

As your walk progresses, you see lots of vines that look like the roses in your yard. Well, they are roses, but a wild Multiflora Rose. Unfortunately, these are invasive and can take over quickly. Watch out for they will grab your shirt or skin before you even know they are there.

The shady side of the creek may have a green fern growing down the bank. Isn't it a little early for ferns? This is the Christmas Fern that does not die back in the fall as other ferns do. It remains visible and starts to green up again as soon as the whether begins to warm.

Finally, we found this on our walk. Not a rock, nor a stick, nor a flower of any sort. You guessed it..this is dog poo. Creasey Mahan is pet friendly to friendly pets, and I'm sure no one wants to step into a pile like this. So please clean up after you dogs, so all of us can enjoy our walks in the forest!

Naturally yours,

~denapple

Welcome Inquirers

2011-03-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

As you may know if you follow my blog, Life Birding Photos and Everything, I have a wonderful time volunteering at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, in Goshen, KY, not too far from Louisville. Following the natural flow of the seasons and observing all of nature, not just birds, makes my spirit soar.

Today Tavia Cathcart, Executive Director of the Nature Preserve, suggested that we start a nature blog for the Preserve, and I agreed! She's a wonderful writer and photographer herself, so the two of us will post as nature inspires us.

Sometimes we may just post photos, and let you be wordlessly awed. Sometimes we may wax poetic, or become philosophical. Something new always encourages us to research and we will share our inquiries with you. Just wait until the wildflowers start to bloom! Tavia knows all the stories and folklore that go with them and you will love it!

The white tail deer on the preserve come out occasionally to visit, or just to graze in the early mornings, or late afternoons. They aren't at all afraid of Mike, our Grounds Manager, but they know to head for the woods when dogs come down the trail. If you have a story about your visit to Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, please share it with us. We Natural Inquirers need to spread the word and have more people learn to love nature as we do!

Naturally Yours,
~denapple